Gary Roden: Who is Co-op Live general manager forced to quit following troubled opening of Manchester arena?

It’s been a pretty rough week for Manchester’s Co-op Live music arena. Following a last minute reduction in capacity to a test event, the opening shows by comedian Peter Kay and American rock duo The Black Keys were postponed.

The week isn’t even over yet, but more changes have come within the arena. General manager Gary Roden has resigned from his position just a day before the announcement regarding The Black Keys and Peter Kay.

Co-op Live acted quickly and replaced Mr Roden with Rebecca Kane Burton. Mr Roden was in the position for just over 12 months, having been appointed to oversee the “strategic and operational delivery of Co-op Live.”

Who is Gary Roden?

Gary Roden was Executive Director & General Manager of Co-op Live for just over  a year. According to the venue, he led an eight-strong team of industry professionals who had experience in various sectors.

Gary himself has a strong background and around two decades of experience under his belt. Amongst his roles before Co-op Live were over eight years at Ticketmaster UK, most recently as Senior Vice President of Client Development and Commercial at the international ticketing group. 

What did Gary Roden say about small venues? 

The former Co-op Live boss was heavily criticised this week for his comments about grassroots music venues - of which there are many across Greater Manchester - and the potential of a ticket levy to support them.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Roden said: "Absolutely, en masse bills are going up and this, that and the other. But ultimately if there are 1,000 venues, one of them is going to be the best-run venue and one of them is going to be the poorly run venue, and where does the money go?"

This has seen strong reaction from within the music industry, with Music Venues Trust hitting back at Mr Roden. The group told NME that his comments were “ill-judged” and “poorly considered.”

What did Co-op Live say about Gary Roden’s resignation? 

A Co-op Live spokesperson said: "Gary Roden has decided to resign. We'd like to thank Gary for his help bringing the UK's newest arena to live entertainment fans and wish him the best for the future. Rebecca Kane Burton has been named Interim GM, effective today. Rebecca is a seasoned veteran of venue management and live entertainment in the UK having served as VP/GM of The O2 from 2012-2016 and CEO of LW Theatres from 2016-2021. We are focused on opening Co-op Live.”